Demountable freight container



B.' F. Fl'rcl-l erm.

` DEMOUNTABLE` FREIGHT CONTAINER Filed Oct. 13. 1939 Feb. 1e, 1943.

s sheets-sheet -1 INVENTOR.S

@befmdf M BY M Feb-16,1943. B. F. FITCH Em 2.310.948

DEMOUNTABLE FREIGHT CONTAINER Filed oct. 13, 1939 :s sheetssheet 2 INVENTOR,

BY @ez/4I, '/'m/ mit; @01%, ATroRNEYs,

Feb.1e,1943. B. F. f--rrcH Em 2,310,948

DEMOUNTABLE REIGHT CONTAINER Filed oct. 1s, 193s s sheets-sheet s Patented Feb. 16, 1943 UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DEMO'UN TABLE FREIGHT CONTAINER BenjaminfF'. Fitch, Zaccheus MeadeY Lane, Fairfield County, Conn., and Ragnar A. Norbom, Nutley, N. J., assignors, by mesne assignments,

to NationalFitch Corporation, New York, N. Y., a' corporation of Delaware 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a demountable truck body adapted to carry package freight and be mounted interchangeably on a highwayy truck or railway car. The body is soV constructed that it may be lifted with its load by suitable hoisting mechanism for transfer from one vehicle to another, or may be horizontally skidded from vehicle to vehicle, as desired. The object of the invention is to provide a. body in: a form which shall be strong and stiff and adapted for construction in large dimensions, and at the same time shall be comparatively light to reduce the unpaid weight to bev carried.

The invention is hereinafter more fully described in connection with the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof, and the novel features are summarized in the claims. These features include provisions for a thoroughly bracedY wallv having a doorway of considerable size. This applies both at the side of the container and at the end. The bracing at the respective doorways cooperates with the floor frame and the roof to provide fora construction which is at once light and stiff and firm.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 isa side elevation of our container; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan just above the floor, as indicated by the line- Z-Z on Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end elevation; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section on a 'larger scale in a plane indicated by the line ll-lll on Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a sectional detail ofthe floor frame in a plane at right angles to 4., as indicated by the line 5 5 on Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a vertical section through one of the end walls of the container as' indicated by the line 5 5 on Fig. 3; Fig. 'l is a vertical cross-section through a portion of one of the side walls, and the roof of the body is indicated by the line 'i--l on Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a horizontal' section through ene` of the side wallsl and end of the container', asindicated by the line 8--8 on Fig. l.

Referring rst to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, I'Illv designates the floor frame of the car carrying suitable flooring, designates the side wallsof the body, the end walls ccnnected with the si de walls at the corners. Both the side walls and end walls extend downwardly about the floor frame, to which they are secured; 40 indicates an'y arched roof connected to the side walls and end walis. A pair of side doors 25 (each door composed of two panels hinged together) and a corresponding pair of end doors at their ends, are provided.

Suitable lift hooks 50 are provided at the eaves, two on each side connected with the sides and door frame by a bracing to allow the body to be lifted with a heavy contained load, for transference from one vehicle to another. Also, on the` underside of the oor frame are skid rails 9B', which in this instance are arranged transversely of the bodyY and enable it to be readily transferred by surface interchange from vehicle to vehicle, the floor frame having side sockets I I Il for the attachment of push-and-pull bars to effect the surface interchange.

Referring to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the floor frame of the body is made upV of longitudinal side sills I2., end sills I3, transverse beams, some single as at I4, and others double as at I5, and diagonal horizontal bracing I6. The side and end sills are angle plates with horizontal and vertical flanges, and the end sills further include channel members 36. Both side and end sills are reinforced. by the side and end plates of the body, as hereinafter explained.

The transverse beams M of the floor frame may be yI-bearns. The transverse beams I5., whichv form the` main cross-members of the floor frame comprise two outwardly facing channels spacedr apart as shown in Fig. 5, connected together by bolts Il. passing through their webs and through an intermediate wooden distance strip I3 extending lengthwise of the channels and flush with them at the top.

The oor planking II is made in comparatively short sections extending lengthwise of the body and. rests-on the top anges of the transversebeams I4` and l5 and is held in place by bolts I9 passing downwardly through the planking and through the distance strips IB of the transverse beams. At the ends of the container the planks are held down by being bolted to the top flange of the sill channel 35, their ends being protected by the vertical flange of the end sills |3as shown in Fig. 6. This construction enables the ready removal and replacement of any floor plank which becomes injured or worn in use. The headsv of the bolts i9 are preferably sunk into the planking so as to leave a perfectly flush floor and the nuts of the bolts are on the undersideof the strips I8 and between the two channel beamsV l5, where they are protected but readily accessible.

It will be seen from Figures 2 and 4 that the floor planking I l does not reach the sides of the container except at the doors. This leaves a ventilation space along the oor at each side. As the container is supported by skid rails located at spaced intervals beneath its bottom, as hereinafter described, there is sufficient vertical open space beneath the sides and ends to allow access of air to pass beneath the floor frame and up into the interior, and thereafter escape through openings in the roof, as hereinafter explained, thus furnishing effective and continuous ventilation.

The sides 20 of the container are Vertical metal plates engaged at their lower portions to the outer faces of the side sills I2, and at their lower ends bent beneath these sills and Welded to them on both the vertical and horizontal regions of engagement. This makes a strong and firm construction, and at the same time is considerably lighter than an embodiment employing a standard channel beam of corresponding depth.

The end sill construction, which has been described, is illustrated in Fig. 6. The end plates outside of the door frame 33 extend downwardly into engagement with the upright flange of the sill member |3 to which these plates are welded. At the corners the side plates 2U and the end plates 33 are reinforced by vertical angle bars 29 welded to them as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8.

At their upper ends, the side plates 20 are flanged inwardly at 4|, in a direction slightly above horizontal, and provide a roof support which is reinforced by a plate 42 welded to the side and internal flange thereof. Resting on the anges 4|, 42 is the roof 43. This roof may be of the construction shown and claimed in Patent No. 2,135,526, issued November 8, 1938, assigned to Motor Terminals, Inc. Such construction comprises transverse pipes 44 welded to the flanges 4| and corrugated sheeting resting on the pipes and welded to them. If a plurality of corrugated sheets is employed, each sheet overlaps the endmost corrugation of the adjacent sheet and then such parts may be effectively retained in place by being welded together or by a surmounting pipe above the two sheets which at its ends is connected to the body side, as shown in the patent just mentioned.

Whether or not the outside pipes are employed, the construction of the underside of the roof sheeting is substantially as shown in Figs. 6 and '7, which leaves ventilation space beneath the corrugated sheets and above the supporting plates 4| and 42. This space leads to the exterior of the body at the eaves. We have found the natural space for the corrugations is greater than needed for ventilation, and we therefore reduce this space and at the same time furnish a protection for the edges of the roof sheeting by bolting a longitudinal angle bar 4B (Fig. '7) on to the top of the sheeting at its edges. The downward flange of this angle bar is of such depth as to leave just the desired space between it and the upper surface of the bent-in side plate 4|.

At the ends of the body, the corrugated sheets 45 are flanged downwardly, where they are secured by rivets l1 passing through an exterior reinforcing strip 48 and the downward flange of a transverse angle bar 49 which conforms to the curvature of the roof. The top plate 31 of the container end is secured to the vertical flange of this angle bar by the same rivets 41, and extends downwardly to the top of the doorway. The doorway at the top iscompleted by a transverse channel beam 32, facing downwardly, having its outer flange 33 abutting the inner face of the plate 3|, and its inner ilange 34 lying on the inside of the end plates 30 and welded to them, as shown in Fig. 6. The downwardly facing channels stiffen the body ends and also provide a protection for the doors when closed. The top Vertical end sheet 3| is bent outwardly at its lowei edge to provide a water drip.

The end doors 35 are hinged to vertical Z-bars 31, welded to the end plates 30. These Z-bars at their upper ends abut the web of the crosschannel 32, and are there welded to it. The end doors, when closed, lie entirely beneath the channel beam 32, and are thus well within the extreme end boundary of the body provided by the end overhanging roof, and hence are not likely to be injured in transportation or handling of the body, should the end of one body strike another body or some obstruction.

At the sides, the wall is reinforced by a longitudinal Z-bar construction over the doorway, shown as an angle bar 2| welded to the side plates 20, having an outwardly extending ange V22 which is welded to the inwardly extending flange of an underlying angle bar 23, having a downward flange 24. This construction not only stiilens the body side at the doorway, but provides a protection for the doors by extending transversely beyond them and provides a weather-tight shield for the doors when the doors are closed and then raised in their own planes, as hereinafter explained, so that the upper ends extend into the channel provided by the stiffened plate 42, and the downward flange 24.

Between the side doorways and the ends of the body, we employ suitable bracing leading from the eaves to the floor frame. As shown, this is comprised of vertical strips 26, and diagonal angle bars 21 flaring downwardly from points near the top of the strip 26 to regions comparatively near the end of the container and the doorway, respectively.

The downwardly facing channels above the doorways at the sides and ends of the container, beside the wall-bracing and door-protecting effects heretofore mentioned, are also of use in locking the doors if the doors when closed are raised in their own plane into such channels. We have indicated at 80, in Figs. 1 and 3, leveroperated plunger devices adapted to shove upwardly on the doors to cause them to enter the channels, but such construction and operation is not claimed herein, but in a copending application of ours.

The lift hooks 50 heretofore mentioned may be removably anchored in sockets 5| (Fig. 1), rigidly secured to the car sides, and to the braces 21. This feature is claimed in a copending application of ours. These hooks provide for lifting the body with its load by the attachment of suitable hoisting mechanism, the brace bars and sheets carrying the lifting stresses directly to the floor frame.

To enable the body to be transferred horizontally by a skidding action, from one vehicle to another, we provide skid rails on the underside of the iloor frame. In the embodiment illustrated, the horizontal shifting is intended to be transversely of the body, and hence the skid rails extend transversely. These rails are mounted on the underside of the oor frame, beneath the I-beams I4.

In the construction shown, the body is supported in the central region and adjacent the edges by the three shoes 92, and |00, as indicated in Fig. 3. These shoes are of material well adapted to resist wear and reduce the rubbing friction as the loaded body is skidded along a support which the shoes engage. We have found that steel castings for the shoes operate advantageously.

When using the transverse skid rails on the container, it is desirable to provide means for attaching push-and-pull bars to shove or pull the container laterally. One of such attaching devices is indicated in Fig. 4, at H0, and may comprise a hollow casting mounted between the floor rails I and secured to them, such casting having a non-circular opening Ill into the interior through which a non-circular head on the push-and-pull may be passed, after which by turning the bar 90 on its axis, a portion of the head will come behind a portion of the wall defining the opening. I'he casting may also have a downwardly extending lug H2 adapted to engage a propelling chain.

Reference is made to our divisional application No. 349,699 led August 2, 1940, for claims relating to the feature of Ventilating the interior of the body upwardly through the floor and out through the roof, as shown and described herein.

We claim:

1. A container having a iloor, a Wall and a roof, the wall having a doorway through it, a downwardly facing channel beam having its inner ange welded to the end wall, a plate connected with the roof and welded at its lower edge to the outer flange of the channel beam, and doors for the container, the outer flange of said channel beam being beyond the outer face of the doors when closed.

2. A container having a iioor frame, a wall Cil connected therewith and having a doorway in it, a downwardly facing channel beam at the top of the doorway, the upper end of the wall being secured to the inner ilange of the channel beam, an upright plate secured to the outer face of the channel beam, an angle bar having its downward flange secured to the upper portion of said plate and having an inwardly projecting top ilange, and a roof overlying the angle bar and secured to it.

3. A combination of a container having a floor, a wall, and a roof, the said wall having a doorway through it, a downwardly facing channel beam having its inner flange registering with and secured to the wall, a plate connected with the roof and secured at its lower edge to the outer ange of the channel beam, whereby a downwardly facing trough is provided above the door.

4. A container having a floor, walls and a roof, one of said walls having a doorway through it, a floor frame terminating in an inwardly facing channel with a vertical web and horizontal ilanges, the wall extending beneath the lower flange of the channel, thus providing with the channel and extending upwardly to the roof.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH. RAG-NAR A. NORBOM. 

